“Can’t you see that the stall at the entrance of the alley has everything—fried dough sticks, crispy fried rings, soybean milk, and all that?”
“You ran out empty-handed and came back empty-handed. Aren’t you afraid the neighbors will laugh at you?”
“Our Qin family has a reputation to uphold. You may not care about losing face, but we certainly do!”
“And besides, you really have no manners. On the second morning after your wedding, shouldn’t you have come to our door first thing in the morning and waited for us to get up so you could serve us tea?”
“Even though this is a new era, we can’t forget traditional etiquette. It’s the most basic respect for our elders. At the very least, you should have greeted us before going off to do anything else.”
“What was the meaning of running out by yourself? If you can’t even show respect to your elders, then our Qin family will never acknowledge you as our daughter-in-law!”
Although she had no idea when Qin Mingzhi had gone out, Jiang Yuying was determined to put her daughter-in-law in her place on the very first day of marriage. That much would not change.
Qin Mingzhi curled her lips slightly.
Jiang Yuying was exactly the same as she had been in her previous life.
Back then, simply because she hadn’t gotten up early enough on the second morning of her marriage to serve Jiang Yuying tea or prepare breakfast, Jiang Yuying had cursed her mercilessly.
And now, in this life, she actually wanted to pull the same power trip?
Qin Mingzhi sneered inwardly.
The next second, her eyelashes drooped. Her lips trembled twice, and her thin, swollen eyelids made her look utterly pitiful.
When she spoke, even her voice was choked with tears.
“I didn’t even get the chance to enter the bridal chamber last night. I was knocked unconscious by someone—I don’t even know who—and locked in the utility room for the entire night…”
As she spoke, she held out her hand.
The red marks on her fair wrist were impossible to miss.
It was all thanks to Xiao Wangnian for having thoroughly tormented her last night. She had cried until her tears dried, then cried again. He had even pinned her wrists above her head, holding them down tightly.
As a result, not only were her eyes swollen, but there were also marks left around her wrists, making her story look even more convincing.
Those marks could easily pass for rope burns.
She could almost say she had turned a disaster into a blessing.
Qin Mingzhi raised her hand and dabbed at her tears. Then, as though she had suddenly realized something, she abruptly looked up.
“Mom… You said there was a lot of noise coming from the bridal chamber last night?”
“But I wasn’t even in the room. How could Xingjie have made that much noise all by himself…?”
The moment those words were spoken, the surroundings fell noticeably silent for a second.
Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
Jiang Yulan had the quickest mouth and blurted out,
“The bride wasn’t even in the bridal chamber, and she was tied up somewhere, while Xingjie was with someone else… Could it be that another woman pretended to be the bride?!”
Hu Meixiu, Jiang Yuying’s sister-in-law from her maternal family, practically had stars in her eyes.
Ever since marrying Jiang Yuying’s elder brother, she had never gotten along well with her sister-in-law.
Now that there was such juicy gossip to watch, she covered her mouth, barely managing to suppress her laughter. She immediately seized the opportunity to twist the knife.
“Oh my, how did this happen? How could the bride have been switched on the very first night of the marriage?”
“Looks like my nephew’s eyesight isn’t very good after all. And he’s about to join the army, too~”
“Mingzhi, don’t get angry just yet. All of us elders are here. If you have anything to say, just tell us. We’ll be fair and side with whoever is in the right, even if they’re family!”
Jiang Yulan couldn’t resist joining in when there was gossip to be had.
“That’s right. If you’ve been wronged, just tell us.”
Jiang Yuying shot Jiang Yulan a furious glare.
That idiot! All she ever cared about was watching the excitement!
Something was obviously wrong with this situation. If things really got out of hand…
Her son was a soldier. Would this affect his future career?
Before Jiang Yuying could come up with a solution, Qin Mingzhi’s eyes had already grown redder and redder. Tears rolled down her cheeks one after another as she bit her lip tightly, looking at Jiang Yuying with an expression of pure grievance and devastation.
“How did things end up like this…? I waited so long to marry Xingjie. The wedding night is so important. How could someone else possibly take my place?”
“Mom, anyone coming in from outside would have to pass by your and Dad’s room. Didn’t you notice anything?”
Jiang Yuying was stunned. For a moment, she didn’t know how to answer.
“I…”
Qin Mingzhi continued to cry.
“Even if you didn’t notice anything, Mom… how could Xingjie not notice either?”
Qin Mingzhi’s lashes trembled as though she had suddenly thought of something.
“Mom, I know you’ve never liked me, but… could this have been your doing?”
Jiang Yuying pointed at herself in disbelief.
“Me?”
“You wretched girl! Don’t make baseless accusations! You can’t just say whatever you want!”
Qin Mingzhi acted as though she no longer dared to trust Jiang Yuying. Before Jiang Yuying could finish speaking, she put on an expression of righteous indignation and started toward the room.
“No! I want to see who that woman inside is! Who exactly is this woman that you, Mom, approve of?”
“Hey! What nonsense are you talking about?”
Jiang Yuying hurried over and stopped Qin Mingzhi.
With so many people watching, as long as they didn’t open the door, then no matter what was happening inside, they could later claim it had all been a misunderstanding—that Qin Mingzhi had simply imagined things.
After all, no one had actually seen anything. They could explain it however they wanted.
All they had to do was find a way to make Qin Mingzhi keep quiet.
But if they opened the door in front of everyone and there really was a woman inside…
Xiao Xingjie’s reputation would be completely ruined!
As she blocked Qin Mingzhi, Jiang Yuying gritted her teeth and warned her in a low voice.
“Behave yourself. Let’s suppress this matter for now. Once we close the door and talk privately, everything can be discussed. If you want compensation, we can negotiate that too.”
“You’re already married to Xingjie. If his reputation is damaged, you won’t have an easy life either!”
Qin Mingzhi’s eyes flickered. She frowned and looked at Jiang Yuying as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, then staggered backward.
“Mom, you wouldn’t actually want me to swallow my anger and accept the woman inside, would you?”
“This is a new era! How can we still have concubines now?”
Jiang Yuying: “?”
When had she ever said that?
The more Hu Meixiu listened, the more excited she became. Her curiosity was practically bursting. Deliberately raising her voice, she called out to Jiang Yulan.
“Yuying! Mingzhi is just a young girl who married into your family. It wasn’t easy for her to begin with, and now she’s being treated like this on her very first night as a newlywed. That’s just too much! Even we can’t stand to watch!”
The Jiang family’s relatives were all troublemakers in their own right. Their eyes gleamed with gossip as they chimed in one after another.
“Exactly! We have to get to the bottom of this today!”
“Yuying, stop blocking the way! Let us go inside and see who did this!”
Everyone shouted at the top of their lungs.
Most of the houses in the alley had been divided into crowded shared courtyards, with several families living under the same roof. A house where an entire courtyard belonged to just one family was so rare that you could count them on your fingers.
Jiang Yuying usually loved showing off how well-off her family was, so she always left the main gate wide open first thing in the morning.
Today was no exception.
By the time Jiang Yuying heard the commotion outside and tried to close the courtyard gate, it was already too late.
Hu Meixiu deliberately shouted several more times, attracting several nosy neighborhood aunties who were just as gossip-loving as she was. Using “helping out” as an excuse, they rushed into the courtyard.
Auntie Zhang and Sister-in-law Liu were at the very front. Their eyes were shining like light bulbs, and the moment they entered the courtyard, they began whispering excitedly.
“What do you mean the bride was replaced? And now there’s talk of taking a concubine?”